Team Tussles at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships- A Recap

May 10, 2023 Team contests at the USATF Masters 10 Km Championships are hotly contested. The top teams from New England often show up, partly to repel the challenges that teams from other regions present, but also to obtain or retain local and regional bragging rights. And, of course, there are always several teams actively pursuing points for the Masters National Club Grand Prix. In the Team Contests, each team can declare up to five runners; the team score is the cumulative time of the top 3 runners for each team, lowest time score wins.

WOMEN

40+ The recent history in this division has been that one of the strong teams from outside New England comes into Dedham and takes home top honors. In 2016, it was the Atlanta Track Club ATC; in 2017 and 2018 the Genesee Valley Harriers GVH out of Rochester NY; and in 2019 and 2022 it was the Impala Racing team Impala out of the San Francisco Bay area. Maybe it was time for a team from New England to win it. Impala did not send a team. The only team from outside New England was the West Valley Track Club WVTC, also from the San Francisco Bay area. Strong teams entered from New England included the Boston Athletic Association BAA; the Greater Lowell Road Runners GLRR; the HFC Striders HFC; and the Liberty Athletic Club Liberty AC. Would WVTC be able to extend the dominance of outsider teams? The BAA tapped Karolyn Bowley, their strong 50's runner, to drop down and run with the 40's team. It paid off; Bowley took 5th overall and was the first runner to score in the team 40's competition at 38:21. Christina Campbell kept HFC in the game with her 39:15 and WVTC got on the board with a 40:03 from Alyson Barrett. 

Alyson Barrett crosses the line first scoring runner for West Valley, finishing 3rd in the team competition and helping her team to the W40+ Team bronze medal position at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales.

It was anyone's game at that point. the BAA got the edge when Amanda Watters sped across the line a minute later in 41:08. Diana Bowser put an end to the suspense, finishing as the BAA's 3rd scorer in 41:36. At a cumulative time of 2:01:05, no one could top them. 

Diana Bowser closes off the scoring for the BAA W40+ team as they win the W40+ team competition at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales. 

Jessamine Lee got Liberty AC on the board with her 45:00. WVTC looked like it might be headed for 2nd place when Shawnessy Dusseau finished in 45:15, giving them 1:25:18 on two scores. But Eileen Cakouros turned in a 45:56 to keep HFC seven seconds ahead of WVTC at 1:25:11. Kathy Moloy finished a single second behind Cakouros giving her Liberty AC team 1:30:57 on two scoring runners. They were over 5 minutes behind but it's not final until the 3rd runner scores. Lee Petersson took care of that for HFC, adding 46:27 to their total for a cumulative score of 2:11:38 and the silver medals. WVTC wound up in the bronze position when Angela Knott clocked 50:28. Caitlin Sweeney closed out the scoring for Liberty AC at 53:06, leaving them in 4th with a 2:24:03. GLRR finished 5th, with Liberty AC's B team in 6th. The BAA finally threw their hat in the ring and came out on top.

Club Grand Prix implications: West Valley enjoyed their third score of the year. The 80 points earned vaulted them into the lead ahead of the Garden State Track Club, 200 to 170. The 70 points acquired by the BAA, HFC, and Liberty AC do no look significant now. Should any of those teams choose to compete in 2or more of the final 3 events, they could move up into podium contention.

BAA 2:01:05 40:22 average     HFC 2:11:38 43:53     WVTC 2:15:46 45:16     

50+ It has been the same story in this division. Willow Street Willow St won in 2016, followed by the powerful Athena team taking top honors from 2017 through 2019. Athena disbanded and most of their athletes joined the Greater Philadelphia Track Club GPTC. There was no Athena team to contest the 50+ division last year and GPTC did not enter. The Shore Athletic Club Shore AC ran away with the win last year, winning by 5 minutes. To my initial surprise, GPTC did not enter a team this year either, despite having the 50-54 winner, Abby Dean on their team. But one of the biggest racers in Philly is the Broad Street Run. In most years it is held the week after the 10 Km Championships. This year it was on the exact same day. That conflict meant that it would again be Shore AC and GVH from outside New England going up against the BAA, GLRR, Liberty AC, and the Tri-Valley Front Runners7 TVFR from Greater Boston and eastern and central Massachusetts. Shore AC's Suzanne La Burt was again this year the first runner in the W50+ team competition to cross the finish line, posting a 41:10. 

Suzanne La Burt kicks to the finish and that all important first place in the W50+ Team Competition; she leads her team to the silver medal position at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales. 

Liberty's Mimi Fallon gave her team a 42:06, and GLRR's Trish Bourne posted a 43:15. 

Trish Bourne finishing in the #1 spot for Greater Lowell, leading her team to the bronze medal finish in Team W50+ at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales

Four seconds later, Jacalyn Lembo gave GVH their first score. 

Jacalyn Lembo crosses the finish line in the #1 position for GVH, leading her team to W50+ victory at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales

The #1 runner from each of the top 4 teams was in. Now it was up to #2. It was starting to look like a repeat for Shore when Alexandra Marzulla turned in a 45:10 to be the first #2 runner across the finish line. They had a cumulative time of 1:26:20 on two runners. 

Alexandra Marzulla, 2nd runner to finish for Shore AC, scored important points as Shore finished 2nd in W50+ at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales

But GVH burst that bubble when their #2 and 3 runners, Brenda Osovski and Cassandra Crane, finished within 9 seconds of each other in 46:12 and 46:21. That gave GVH 2:15:52. 

Cassandra Crane closes off the scoring for GVH in the W50+ Team competition, ensuring that her team enjoyed the victory at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales

Shore still had a shot at the win. Their third runner had to come across the line in 49:31 or better. GLRR got their 2nd runner, Natalie Browne, across the finish line in 48:32. When the clock kept ticking for another minute with no other 50+ runners crossing, the shouts could go up for GVH. They had the win! A minute after that, Debbie Brathwaite closed off the scoring for Shore at 50:31, giving them 2:16:51 and ensuring a 2nd place finish. Twenty seconds later Jill Lohmeier gave GLRR their third scorer and a cumulative time of 2:22:39. Liberty AC's 2nd and 3rd runners finished within a second of each other, clocking 52:03 and 52:04. The team had a total of 2:26:43, finishing in 4th but 2 minutes ahead of the BAA and 23 minutes ahead of the TVFR. Each of the top four teams had #4 and #5 runners for insurance. GVH Carol Reif, Carol Geiger; Shore AC Susan Stirrat, Leslie Nowicki; GLRR Marisol Garcia, Amy Breen; Liberty AC Melanie McFarlane, Helene Sussman. GVH's last podium finish herein the 10 Km Championships at Dedham was in 2017; they moved up from bronze to gold!

Club Grand Prix implications: The points earned by GVH and Shore, 100 and 90 respectively, provided them a lift int he Club GP standings. GVH moved up to 2nd, now just 20 points behind the Impala Racing team. Shore moved into 4th, still a hundred points behind Greater Philadelphia, but 20 points ahead of Garden State and Sirius Athletics of Athens GA.

GVH 2:15:522 45:18     Shore AC 2:16:51 45:37     GLRR 2:22:39 47:33

60+ Impala took the division honors in 2016, followed by three consecutive years of Atlanta claiming the gold medals. Last year it was GPTC. This year the only teams entered were from eastern Massachusetts, the Liberty AC and the GLRR, guaranteeing a New England win. In fact Liberty AC entered an A and a B team and they had no trouble going 1-2 in the division. The first three runners across the finish line were from the A team, Mary Cass, Victoria Bok and Shahdokt Reeder clocked 41:45, 47:51, and 52:19 respectively for a winning cumulative time of 2:21:55. 

Mary Cass not only captures the individual win in Women's 60-64, but she also finished first in the W60+ team competition, leading her Liberty AC team to victory at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales 

Thirteen seconds after Reeder finished, Anne Shreffler gave the B team their first score, 52:32.LRR's Julie Haynes was able to break up the B team's 1st and 2nd runners but there was no stopping them. Liberty B's #2 and #3 runners, Drusilla Pratt-Otto and Brenda King scored at 55:53 and 58:57. The B team had a total of 2:47:22 and the silver medals. GLRR's Barbara Kendall split Pratt-Otto and King with her 58:47, but Liberty's B team could not be denied.  Denise Piekos clocked 1:00:37 to give GLRR a complete set of scoring runners and the bronze medals.

Club Grand Prix implications: Liberty AC enjoyed their 2nd straight 100-point championship. Between Syracuse and Dedham, Liberty is now at 370 points. The Impala Racing is in 2nd at 240.

Liberty AC 2:21:55 47:19     2:47:22 55:48     3:01:51 1:00:37

MEN

40+ The Boston Athletic Association BAA has done extremely well in this division. They won here in 2016, 2017, and 2019. They finished 2nd to regional rivals the Central Mass Striders CMS in 2018 and could not overcome the 1-2-7 finish of the Indiana Elite AC Indiana last year, finishing 2nd again. In 2019 they bounced back from a 2nd place finish the year before. Would they come loaded this year? Indiana achieved all their goals last year, winning at Club XC and taking the 40+ Masters National Grand Prix. They took the title at Club XC again but have not sent a team to a championship since then. Their main competition, as in 2018, would come from a local team. The HFC Striders HFC has moved past CMS to challenge the BAA. In 2019 they finished 3rd behind the BAA and CMS but were just 2:19 out of first. Last year they finished 3rd behind Indiana and the BAA but were just. 1:22 behind the BAA. T.J. Unger again led the way for HFC, claiming team first in 33:43. Any HFC joy was short-lived though, as the blue and yellow of the BAA flashed across the line in 2nd through 5th, with Jason Reilly, Tomas Folch, Justin Maloney, and Larry Aller getting the job done in 34:14, 34:51, 35:10, and 36:07, respectively. 

Justin Maloney finished 3rd in the M40+ team competition, helping his BAA team to the win at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales 
 

Jason Cakouros and Brian McCarthy were not far back in 36:31 and 36:56 but the damage had been done. 

Jason Cakouros crossing the finish line and helping his HFC Striders team to the M40+ Team silver medals at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales 

HFC took 2nd, a minute and a half behind the BAA. As it turned out, the BAA's victory was not quite as dominant as it first looked. A BAA coach brought the matter to the race officials after the race that their 2nd runner, Folch, is apparently a resident but not yet a citizen. A glitch was identified in the transition of information from the USATF membership database to the Simply Register system that did not flag Folch as a Non- Citizen. That glitch is being fixed. USATF rules prohibit non-citizens from winning prizes & awards and from scoring for teams. Luckily, in this case, no damage was done. The BAA had an insurance runner who took his job seriously. Aller's time was sufficient to retain the win, but it was closer than originally thought. The BAA took the win by 1:39. There was not as much drama in the contest for third. GLRR took that with Matt Theodoros, Dan Guttenplan, and Brian Studer finishing close together in 38:08, 39:06, and 39:39. Their total of 1:56:53 was well ahead of the TVFR team in 4th.

Club Grand Prix implications: Four of the top 5 finishers have no other Grand Prix points, suggesting they are not contesting the Club GP. The only club with prior GP points is the BAA which also picked up 35 points at Clubs. In recent years, the BAA has only sent teams to Clubs and defended the home roads at Dedham. Hence the most significant effect may be that GVH got their 2nd event on the Club GP books. The 55 points from their 6th place finish give them 155 points, vaulting them into 2nd place behind West Valley. Last year was the first year that a West Valley 40+ team contested three events. But those three were Clubs, the 10 Mile at Sacramento and the 5 km XC in Boulder CO. Will West Valley get a third event this year? The 2023 5 Km XC championship is not west of the Mississippi. 

BAA 1:45:31 35:11     HFC 1:47:10 35:40     GLRR 1:56:53 38:58

50+ The Greater Springfield Harriers GSH were dominant in this division, winning each year from 2016 to 2018. But interest wanes and runners age. In 2019 GSH finished 3rdd behind GVH and HFC. Last year they were 4th as the Garden State Track Club GSTC took top honors with CMS second and Atlanta third; just 46 seconds separated those three teams. In a couple of years, two more runners from GSH will age up, and then the 60+ division will have to watch out for GSH! In the meantime, they would compete in 50+. It would be a mistake to ignore them. Twelve teams, including just one 'B' team would contest the division championship; the defending champion was not among them. The team that finished just a half minute behind them was ready to roll though. Gregory Putnam got CMS started at 34:21 but their rivals poured across the line after him. Nat Larson was 4 seconds back for GSH, followed 12 seconds later by Atlanta's Steve Bell. A half minute later, CMS scored again with Arthur Besse at 35:15.  But now it was GVH's turn. Marcus Gage clocked 35:37 to give them their first score. 

Marcus Gage crossing the finish line in 5th place in the M50+ Team competition, helping his GVH team to 4th place at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales  

After another half minute lull, the race for the win was over. Putnam's training partner, Joseph Shairs, closed things off for CMS with a 36:10. 

Joseph Shairs closes off the scoring for his Central Mass Striders team, ensuring their Men's 50+ victory at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales

With three runners scored and a total of 1:45:46, just 15 seconds slower than the winning time in 40+, no one would catch them! But it was still wide open for 2nd. Three teams had their #1 runner in but no one other than CMS had a #2 runner in. Four seconds after Shair finished for CMS, the Manchester Running Club Manchester, out of Connecticut, enjoyed their first score, courtesy of David Guzik at 36:14. They were pouring in now. Six seconds later, Brent Fields gave Atlanta their 2nd score at 36:20. At 1:10:57 they were looking good for silver! Or were they? It took Manchester a while to get their first runner in, but three seconds after Fields, they had their 2nd runner in, Brett Stoeffler at 36:23. 

Brett Stoeffler, #2 runner for the Manchester Running Club helps his team to the 6th place finish at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales 

At 1:12:37 on two runners, they were behind Atlanta but where was #3? Michael Dunlop gave the BAA their first score at 37:05, and then Mark Hixson gave GSH their 2nd score at 37:14, moving GSH back in front of Manchester with two runners and 1:11:39. 

Mark Hixson, 2nd runner across the finish line for the Greater Springfield Harriers helped his team to a bronze medal finish in the men's 50+ competition at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales 

Brad Slavens made sure Atlanta had no more worries. He slammed the door with a 37:21 time! That gave Atlanta three runners in and a cumulative time of 1:48:18. No other team could match that; Atlanta had the silver medals. The bronze medals were still up for grabs. Mike Nier kept GVH in contention by scoring as #2 with a 37:38; they were at 1:13:15. After Jeff Conston put Shore AC on the board with a 37:50, another minute went by with no one scoring any team points. Then it was Alejandro Heuck giving GSH their third score at 39:10. At 1:50:49, Manchester could not reach them. Their best possibility was almost a minute over that. As it turned out, Manchester would not score next. Paul Davies and Chris Lawrence sped across the line in 39:36 and 40:20 to give the BAA a final total of 1:57:01. But GVH moved back ahead of them into 4th almost immediately; Michael Mertens was just two seconds behind Lawrence, giving GVH a total 1:53:37 and 4th place. The BAA was 5th, followed by Manchester in 6th.

Club Grand Prix implications: The 2nd place finish of Atlanta was significant. The 90 points they earned kept them ahead of GVH and Greater Springfield. The 70 points GVH earned from their 4th place finish raised their total to 260, fifty points behind Atlanta. Greater Springfield, off to a slower start, got their 2nd set of GP points and are 80 behind GVH. 

Central Mass Striders 1:45:46 35:16     Atlanta 1:48:18 36:06     Greater Springfield Harriers

60+ The Boulder Road Runners Boulder claimed consecutive championships in this division in 2016 and 2017, falling to 2nd behind Atlanta in 2018. Atlanta had a similar 2-year run with wins in 2018 and 2019. Shore AC's best finish in the 2016-2019 period was a 4th place in 2017. Nonetheless, they were able to take the win in 2022 with a mix of old and new blood. The teams are the same, but the athletes are often different from one year to the next, depending on age profile, injury and non-racing commitments. Mark Zamek got the team race started with a 36:13 for Shore. 

Mark Zamek takes first in the Men's 60+ Team competition, helping his team to their silver medal finish at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales 

Less than a minute later, Steve Schmidt gave the Ann Arbor Track Club AATC their first score at 36:54. 

Steve Schmidt, 1st runner to finish for his Ann Arbor team helped them to a 4th place finish and 70 Grand Prix points in Men's 60+ at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales 
  

A little over half a minute after Schmidt scored, the first of Atlanta's runners, Davd Black was across the finish in 38:35. 

David Black crosses the finish line first for the Atlanta TC Men's 60+ Team. Joined by his teammates in the next 44 seconds, Atlanta rolled to the Team win at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales

Atlanta's strength this year has been their tight pack of three, and it was on display. Atlanta's Lester Dragstedt finished just 8 seconds behind Black in 38:43. Casey Hannan, Atlanta's #3, was 36 seconds behind Dragstedt in 39:19, but allowed no runner from another team to get past him into that slot. Boom! Just like that, finishing 3-4-5 in the team competition, Atlanta took the win with a 1:56:37. The action doesn't stop though! Three seconds later David Westenberg put GLRR on the board with his 39:22. Less than a minute later, Larry Sak gave Ann Arbor its second score of 40:17. They were at 1:17:11 on two scoring runners. 

Larry Sak finishes in the #2 position for Ann Arbor TC helping his team to a 4th place Men's 60+ team finish at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales

GVH's #1 runner, Michael Gardella scored next at 40:28. He was followed across the line by two HFC runners, Robert McCormack and Chris Kelly in 40:33 and 40:49, giving HFC a 2-runner total of 1:21:22. Tim Riccardi gave GVH a 2nd score; their 2-runner total was 1:22:26. 

Timothy Riccardi, #2 runner for GVH helped his team to an important 5th place finish in Men's 60+ at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales

Twelve seconds later, John Barbour, despite a gimpy quad, turned in a 42:10 for GLRR; they had 1:21:32 on two runners. 

John Barbour, #2 runner for Greater Lowell played a critical role in their 6th place finish which gained them important Grand prix points, at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales

It was getting down to crunch time for the silver medals! Gary Weisinger scored a 42:37 at #2 for Shore, followed twenty seconds later by HFC's #3, Jimmy Fallon. Did that mean the HFC got 2nd? Not necessarily! HGC's final total was 2:04:19. Shore's total on two runners was 1:18:50. They needed a 3rd runner to finish under 45:30! Reno Stirrat was out on the course, running with a piriformis muscle that acted up enough at the Half Marathon championships he had to stop and walk 7 times. Would it and he hold up today!? The clock kept ticking. GVH's #3, Wayne Crandall, crossed the line at 43:23. GVH now had a final score of 2:05:49; they were behind HFC but still might grab the bronze medals. But who was that coming up the hill? It was Stirrat, well under 45:30 at 43:48! Just like that, Shore had the silver medals with a final total of 2:02:38. Ordinarily  I would end it there but just to show how tightly contested the 60's division was, let's just stick with it a little longer. Once Stirrat crossed the finish line, it was Atlanta, Shore, HFC, and GVH in 1st through 4th among the teams with all 3 scoring runners in. But Ann Arbor was at 1:17:11 on their two, and GLRR was at 1:21:32 on two. Where they wound up depended on #3. GLRR's 3rd runner needed to finish in the next 39 seconds for them to move ahead of GVH. Despite their best efforts, it did not happen. GLRR's next two runners, John Hadcock and Ken Goodin arrived at 44:21 and 44:4GLRR's final total was 2:05:53. When Ann Arbor's Aaron Pratt, soon to enter the 70-74 division, crossed in 48:23, the cheering could begin for Ann Arbor. They had not caught HFC for third but, with a total of 2:05:34, they edged GVH for fourth by 15 seconds. GLRR was just 4 seconds back in 6th! Every second counts! Matt Lynch for HFC, Paul Carlin and Michael Mester for Ann Arbor, and Goodin and David Penn were insurance runners for their teams.

Club Grand Prix implications: Four of the first five teams in this division championship are in the thick of the Club GP race. Atlanta's 100 points meant they cemented their lead. They are at 440, 45 points ahead of Shore. Equally important, they now own the head-to-head tie-breaker should that come into play, against their three closest rivals. Shore's 2nd place finish kept them in 2nd at 395 points. Ann Arbor's 70 points from 4th allowed them to keep pace; they are 80 points behind Shore and 80 points ahead of GVH. The race for third could be the tightest contest in this division. All of the points from GVH's next score will count toward their total. All but 20 points of Ann Arbor's next score will count. The standings after the next championship they both contest will tell us more.

Atlanta 1:56:37 38:53     Shore AC 2:02:38 40:53     HFC 2:04:19 41:27

70+ The New England 65 Plus Runners Club NE65+ won the division in 2016 and finished 2nd in 2017. Since then they have not been on the podium. They did not enter this year. GVH took top honors from 2017 through 2018, with Atlanta in 2nd place the last two years of that run. Atlanta gained the win in 2022 ahead of GVH. Both teams were back, Atlanta going for a 2nd straight win, GVH hoping to reverse the tables and start another run. Kirk Larson got things rolling for Atlanta with a 44:07. 

Kirk Larson crosses the finish line first in the Men's 70+ Team competition, leading .his Atlanta TC team to victory at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales

The Syracuse Track Club Syracuse answered with Jim Foster's 44:58. Dave Glass, despite being in the 75-79 division, scored next at 46:56, giving Atlanta the early lead: two runners scored for a total of 1:31:03.

Dave Glass, #2 runner for Atlanta's Men's 70+ team played an important role in their victory at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales 

Just over 20 seconds later, Doug Wood, Syracuse#2, answered with a 47:17. They were at 1:32:15. Five seconds later, Jim May crossed the finish line for GVH, their #1 runner at 47:22. Glenn Stewart gave GLRR its first score at 48:38. Less than half a minute later, Atlanta got their third score when Ward Irvin clocked 49:05. That closed the door on the other teams. Atlanta had a total of 2:20:08; Syracuse's total clock was already over 2:21. Atlanta enjoyed its second consecutive win. But silver and bronze were still up for grabs. Walter Mann gave GLRR its second score with a 49:42; their two-runner total was 1:38:20. After a momentary lull in the action, Ted Larison closed the scoring for Syracuse with a 51:10. Syracuse had a total of 2:23:25 and no one could deny them the silver medals. Shortly thereafter, Edward Burns provided the third score for GLRR. His 52:34 ensured they had the bronze medals at 2:30:54. Tony Gingello was just a second back from Burns. Once Jack Kasperski joined him on the other side of the finish line, GVH had its 2:35:51 for 4th place and 70 Grand Prix points! It was good to see Tony Gingello, a key member of the 2017 and 2018 winning GVH teams, back in action. Just out of rehab for broken foot bones, Gingello confided before the race that he was not fully trained up yet; he needed to put in more speed work. I recall Gingello kicking past me in 2017 to take the M70 championship away in the final 300 meters. I am guessing that the lack of speedwork meant he could not quite catch Burns this time with his closing kick! Watch out for Gingello next year!

Club Grand Prix implications: Atlanta got the win and the 100 points. That is significant because they are now in the lead with 440 points from their best 5 events. They are not home free because the Boulder Road Runners can vault ahead of them if they contest a 4th event and finish either 2nd or first. If Boulder contests the 1 Mile championship in Indy, that could tell us more. Alternatively, Boulder could wait for the Masters 5 Km XC in Boca Raton FL to roll the dice. Syracuse obtained 90 points for their 2nd place effort, leaving them in 3rd place, a hundred points behind Boulder, but based on just 3 events instead of four. They could be in the hunt for one of the podium spots if they choose to contest some additional events. In recent years they have competed at Clubs and in the northeast. Will they show up at Indy for the Mile or on the Jersey Shore for the 12 Km Championships? If not, GVH is best positioned to take the third GP spot. They obtained 70 points for 4th in these championships. They are 4th in the GP, fifty points behind Syracuse.

Atlanta 2:20:08 46:43     Syracuse 2:23:25 47:49     Greater Lowell 2:30:54 50:18

That concludes the recap of the team championships.

**** ****Huge Kudos & Thanks to Pam Fales for not only doing all of her Masters LDR Liaison work at Dedham but also sending me some fantastic photos!!!**************

2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships--Cool Running!

 May 5, 2023. After an unseasonably warm half marathon in Syracuse on the 16th of April, Masters athletes were ready for a return to spring weather running. Dedham, Massachusetts and the James Joyce Ramble provided them on the 30th of April. The early forecasts called for a wet and windy Sunday morning. The rain slowed to a drizzle and stopped before the race. Temperatures were right around 50 F, ideal for a fast race. The winds, at 18-20 mph out of the NE, were not ideal, to say the least, but, luckily for the runners, they were mostly cross winds. It did not stop two runners from breaking American Age Division Records.

AMERICAN RECORDS Nat Larson 60 and Jan Holmquist 78 took down American Records.  

Jim O'Neill has held the men's record at 34:27 since 1998. Many speedy runners in their 60's have competed at Dedham, but none came close to O'Neill's record on this course. In fact, the 60-64 course record was broken last year by Tim Degrado; his net time was 35:57. Larson lowered O'Neill's record by three seconds to 34:24, a definite feather in his cap. Larson noted that he managed his pacing in part by staying in a small pack, for much of the race, with Gregory Putnam, out of the 50-54 division. Larson adds this record to the 1 Mile, 5 Km, 8 Km and Ten Mile records he has broken since he turned 60 last year. 

Nat Larson Finishing His American Record-Breaking run at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships Hosted by the James Joyce Ramble
in Dedham MA Photo Credit: Pam Fales

The ratified Women's 75-79 American record has stood since 2012. Libby James set it at 50:11 on a challenging course at altitude, the Bolder Boulder. In November of 2021, Nancy Rollins ran a 50:04 in Illinois, but that mark is pending, presumably because the required paperwork has not yet been filed. The USATF Records Chair makes many attempts to secure the records from the Race Director. If they are not forthcoming within 5 years, the pending records are removed. Holmquist took down the women’s 75-79 record by either 10 seconds or three seconds in 50:01. Holmquist currently holds both the 70-74 record, at 45:19 and the 75-79 record at 50:01. 

Jan Holmquist wearing the Bib of Honor, #1-After breaking the record-Congratulated by Martin Hanley, Ramble Race Director Photo Credit: FitzFoto/New England Runner 

Technically both Larson's 60-64 and Holmquist's 75-79 records are pending. Once the paperwork is filed, the course measurement is either accepted by the Road Race Technical Council or is post-verified, and the records are ratified by the Masters LDR Committee, then it becomes a new American Record. That process can take a year or two sometimes, but usually it is a matter of months. This course has not changed, and records have been set here before, so it would be surprising if these records are not ratified fairly quickly.

Age Division Course records will be discussed in the Age Division section below.

OVERALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

WOMEN The main contenders looked to be Beverly Antunes, Fiona Bayly, Karolyn Bowley, Abby Dean, and Melissa Hardesty. I thought that Christina Campbell and Sybil Sanders might play a more prominent role, but it did not play out that way. 

Antunes ran a 36:06 at the Boston 10K for Women in October of 2020. One can use age grading to update that to the present. If so, it comes out to 37:07. Of course, that assumes the level of fitness conditional on age, is the same in both years. 

Always nationally competit1ive, Bayly has turned it up a notch, running superbly in the latter stages of 2022 and into 2023. She finished 4th overall at both the 10 Mile championships in Sacramento and the Half Marathon championships in Syracuse. In addition, she set a Women's 55-59 American 15 K record, 58:55, at the Ted Corbitt Run last December. That equates to a 38:23 10K. In January she ran 38:10 at the Joe Kleinman run, also in NYC.

Bowley ran 38:28 last summer at the Beach to Beacon 10K and in September clocked 37:07 at the Lone Gull 10K. In early April she ran 58:56 at the Frank Nealon Tune Up 15K, age grade equivalent to a 38:25 10K.

Dean finished 6th overall last year in a loaded field, clocking 38:02. Her most recent outing over a comparable distance and reasonable weather conditions was the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Miler in Washington DC 4 weeks prior to this race. Her time of 1:04:02 is comparable to a high 38-minute 10 Km.

Hardesty won here in 2019. Her 37:06 adjusts, via age grading, to a 38:15 4 years later. But Hardesty may have lost less over those years. Last 4th of July she ran a 23:48 4 miler, age grade equivalent to a 37:31.

After the gun sounded, Antunes, Bayly, Dean and Hardesty found themselves at the front of the women's race. For the first mile and a half or so, through the town center and up the Highland Street hill, it was Antunes and Hardesty setting the pace, with Dean tucked in and Bayly biding her time behind Dean. Bowley was not part of the lead group, choosing a more conservative approach. Once they turned onto the High Street, heading towards the Dedham Common between miles 2 and 3, Bayly accelerated, and passed Dean. As they wove through the Noble and Greenough School grounds, heading toward Mile 4, it was Hardesty setting the pace with Antunes and Bayly a few strides back trying to maintain contact. 

Women's Lead Pack between Miles 3 and 4--Melissa Hardesty leading with Fiona Bayly L, arm sleeves and Beverly Antunes R, yellow singlet with gray and Abby Dean just visible in blue behind Bayly at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships Hosted by the James Joyce Ramble
in Dedham MA Photo Credit: Matthew Cutrona

Dean was a few more strides back, followed by Bowley, who was still biding her time behind those four. Hardesty threw in an acceleration just after the quick up and down at the school building followed by the turn onto Pine Street and its more gradual but longer uphill. That gave her a real gap on Antunes and Bayly. Hardesty was never headed after that, cruising to a repeat victory, albeit with 4 years intervening, this time in 37:26! 

Melissa Hardesty breaks the tape for her 2nd Overall Victory in Two Tries at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships Hosted by the James Joyce Ramble
in Dedham MA Photo Credit: Granite State Race Services 

Antunes pulled away from Bayly a half mile or so later. Bayly was able to keep her in sight but not close on her. Antunes claimed 2nd in 38:02, with Bayly capturing Bronze 9 seconds later. A mere 6 seconds more passed before Dean crossed the line at 38:17 in 4th, holding at bay a fast-closing Bowley, just 4 seconds back in 5th. Hardesty had a brilliant victory and Antunes a hard-fought silver medal. It was one of the closest ever 3-4-5 races! Kudos to all three for running gritty races!

Melissa Hardesty 37:26     Beverly Antunes 38:02     Fiona Bayly 38:11

Men The main contenders among the men were: David Angell, Justin Freeman, Brendan Prindiville, T.J. Unger and Mario Vazquez.

Angell won here in 2017 and 2018 and took silver in 2019 with a 32:22. Heel problems interrupted his training from time to time in 2021 and 2022 but he still was able to compete nationally, finishing 8th overall at the 12 Km Championships last September. He appeared to be closer to his former self at Richmond where he finished 7th at Cross Nationals. With a PRP treatment shortly after that, and a couple of months to recover and train, it appeared Angell might be able to challenge for the podium at this race.

Freeman ran a scorching 31:32 at Lone Gull last September and had a very nice outing at the Tune-Up 15K in early April, clocking 50:04, age grade equivalent to a 32:38.

Prindiville finished 3rd here in 2019 in 33:14. This past February he finished 6th overall at the USATF Masters 5 km national championships in Atlanta with a 16:28 clocking. At the Tune-Up in early April, he proved his current fitness with a 51:02, essentially age grade equivalent to the time he ran here in 2019.

Unger finished 4th in that 2019 running of the 10 km, just 8 seconds behind Prindiville. Unger had an off day last year, finishing 12th overall in 34:13. Five months later he was back to his norm, running 33:32 at Lone Gull. This March he ran 27:10 at the Irish Clover 5 Miler, equivalent to a 33:54 10K. With another 6 weeks to sharpen up, Unger would be ready to challenge for the podium.

Vazquez ran a 32:09 10K last October and followed that up earlier this spring with a smoking 31:39 at the Middletown 10K in his home state of Connecticut. In the years leading up to Covid, it appeared that Vazquez was content to run in local races around Connecticut running half marathons in the 1:15 to 1:17 range. After the break from Covid, Vazquez appears to have increased the intensity of his training. In June of 2021, he turned in a 1:12:27 HM and in September a 1:11:13. A year later, in September 2022, he cracked 1:10 for the first time I can find, with a 1:09:50 at the Hogsback HM in Connecticut. So far, he has rarely run outside of Connecticut.

When the gun sounded, Vazquez shot from the starting line, determined to set the pace. 

800 meters into the race Mario Vazquez has a huge lead already at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships Hosted by the James Joyce Ramble
in Dedham MA Photo Credit:MickFoto/New England Runner

Freeman tried to match him but had to settle for running in no man's land between Vazquez and a chase pack of Angell, Prindiville, Unger and a few of the B.A.A. athletes made up the chase pack. By the time they were headed through the town center on High Street, Vazquez was well ahead and even Freeman had a good lead on Angell and Prindiville, who had separated from the rest of the chase pack. Heading up the Highland Street hill, Angell and Prindiville hoped to work together to bring back Freeman, but Freeman was having none of that. Freeman could not move up on Vazquez but he had more than enough to keep the others at bay. As they headed out toward the Noble and Greenough School, Angell was mostly setting the pace for Prindiville. When they headed up the Pine Street hill, Angell was able to put some distance on Prindiville. In the meantime, Unger had separated himself from the others and was chasing Prindiville. It was not close for the win. Vazquez had well over a hundred meters on Freeman when he crossed the finish line, first in 31:50, smashing the Masters course record of 32:08 set by Jesse Davis just last year. 

Mario Vazquez claims the Overall Victory at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships Hosted by the James Joyce Ramble
in Dedham MA Photo Credit:FitzFoto/New England Runner

Freeman claimed 2nd in 32:17. It was a bigger gap back to the chasers. Once Angell broke from Prindiville, he was able to hold it all the way to the line, claiming 3rd in 33:15. That was a faster age adjusted time than his silver medal effort in 2019! Prindiville could not move up on Angell but he stayed strong to the finish line, claiming 4th place in 33:38, finishing just 5 seconds ahead of a fast-closing Unger.

Mario Vazquez 31:50     Justin Freeman 32:17     David Angell 33:15

AGE GRADING CHAMPIONSHIPS

NOTE: Age Grading for USATF Masters LDR Championships, including Road Racing and Cross Country, is based on the 2020 Age Grading tables developed by Alan Jones with the assistance of Tom Bernhard. These are updates to the 2010 and 2015 tables, using the same methodology but updated data. The best calculator to approximate the results using those tables is: MLDR Road age-grading calculator (howardgrubb.co.uk). Make sure you are using the 2020, not the 2015 or 2010 factors. If you want to see how the standards have changed over time it is possible to toggle between the different years at that calculator. The WMA has recently issued new2023 age grading tables with much fanfare. Those tables are different, and are not being used by USATF Masters LDR. It is simplest to think of the WMA age grading to be used for the track and Masters LDR age grading to be used for road racing and, perhaps, cross country.

Men At Club Cross in December, four of the top 4 M60 distance runners in the country competed. The age grading results for that race showed a finishing order of Steve Schmidt, Nat Larson, Rick Lee and John Van Danacker. In the National Masters Championships since that time, at least two of those have competed. At Cross Nationals in Richmond, the order was Larson-Van Danacker-Lee. At Atlanta with the 5 Km, it was Schmidt-Lee-Van Danacker. In Sacramento for the Ten-Miler, it was Larson-Van Danacker, and at Syracuse the half marathon results listed Larson-Schmidt. Larson, Schmidt and Van Danacker were entered here. How would it shake out this time? There was another wrinkle. Mark Zamek, one of the top competitors in M55 a few years back, had taken time off to deal with various niggling injuries. Now he was back, had just turned 60, and was eager to join the competition at the front of M60. 

Runners from other age divisions can, of course, break onto the podium as well. Jacob Nur 67 topped them in San Francisco; John Glidewell 66 topped them in Atlanta; Roger Sayre 65 got in between Larson and Van Danacker in Sacramento. But that has been it! And none were entered at Dedham.

Setting an American record means you are likely to top the age grading podium and that is what happened. Larson's 60 34:54 net time topped the charts by almost 4 percentage points. It merited a 94.33%. Van Danacker 60 enjoyed his first age grading edge over Schmidt 62. His 35:43 earned a 90.43%, with Schmidt's 36:52 at 89.65%. 

John Van Danacker closes off a grand run, claiming 2nd in 60-64 and 2nd in Overall Age Grading at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships Hosted by the James Joyce Ramble
in Dedham MA Photo Credit: Pam Fales 

Mark Zamek 60 made his presence felt, just one hundredth of a percentage point behind Schmidt 62, in 4th. Justin Freeman 46 proved you do not have to be older than 50 to achieve a top score in age grading. He took the final cash prize with his 89.00% grade from his sparkling 32:17 net time.

Nat Larson 60 34:54 94.33%     John Van Danacker 60 35:43 90.43%     Steve Schmidt 62 36:52 89.65%

Women Jan Holmquist typically graces the top of the Age Grading podium when she contests this 10 Km championship, practically in her back yard. As noted, Holmquist got the American record she was hoping for. She also took the top spot in age grading. It was not close, despite the terrific performances in several of the age divisions. Holmquist's net time of 50:01 at age 78 garnered a 98.93%. Finishing 4th overall out of the 55-59 age division also tends to mean you have age graded well. Fiona Bayly took 2nd in age grading. Her 38:10 net earned a 93.54%. Mary Cass captured the 60-64 age division. Her time helped her close out the age grading podium; her 41:43 at age 61 merited a 92.17%. 

Mary Cass crosses the finish line, 1st in 60-64 and 3rd in overall Age-Grading at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships Hosted by the James Joyce Ramble
in Dedham MA Photo Credit: Pam Fales  

Suzanne La Burt 59 finished 4th with a 91.09% from a 41:09. Karolyn Bowley 53 earned the final age grading cash award with her 91.00% from her 38:19 net time.

Jan Holmquist 78 50:01 98.93%     Fiona Bayly 55 38:10 93.54%     Mary Cass 61 41:43 92.17%

AGE DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIPS

The winner of each age division championship is a national champion. 

Women 40-44 Beverly Antunes battled for the win at the front of the race, capturing the silver medal overall. Her 38:02 earned Antunes a national championship. 

Beverly Antunes crosses the finish line-2nd Place Overall in 38:02, and first in the 40-44 Division at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships Hosted by the James Joyce Ramble
in Dedham MA Photo Credit: Pam Fales  
 

Alyson Barrett. Christina Campbell, and Amanda Watters were in the hunt for the two remaining podium spots. Barrett finished 5th in the division at the Masters Ten Mile Championships in Sacramento in early April; that performance equated to a 40:08. Last fall, Campbell ran three 5K's in the 18:10 to 18:26 range. That suggests a sub-38 should be possible if she has the same fitness this spring. Watters ran a 1:03:18 in the Tune Up 15K in early April, equating roughly to a low 41-minute range 10K. Campbell was not able to run with Antunes, but captured 2nd at 39:15with a 48 second cushion. Barrett made her trip from the West Coast pay off; she brought the bronze medal home. Her 40:03 left Watters in 4th just over a minute back.

Beverly Antunes 38:02     Christina Campbell 39:15     Alyson Barrett 40:03

45-49 Melissa Hardesty won the overall crown; she took the age division first at the same time. Diana Bowser, Ginger Reiner, and Sybil Sanders contested 2nd and 3rd behind Hardesty. Bowser ran 41:19 at Lone Gull last September. A month later she ran 19:48 at the BIGGSTEPS 5K, which converts to a 40:26. Het 1:02:48 at the Tune Up 15K equates to a 40:59. Reiner is a past overall champion, taking the crown in 2017 with a 37:09. Not that she has exhibited that level of fitness recently. She ran 2 seconds faster than Bowser at Lone Gull last fall. This February she clocked 19:25 at the Super Sunday 5K, equating to a 39:40. Her Tune Up 15K this April was 13 seconds slower than Bowser, suggesting some tempering of enthusiasm; a sub-40 10K might be a stretch. Sanders was a top runner in her 30's until she needed a hip replacement 5 years ago. Fully recovered, she is often atop the podium again. She won her division and took 2nd Masters at the Middletown 10K in early April in 41:29 and clocked 18:46 in a 5K a week before Dedham. The 5K time equates to a 38:20 She appeared ready to roll. Those spring races were good predictors for Sanders. She won the silver medal in 39:22, a good minute ahead of Reiner.

Ginger Reiner crosses the finish line, the Bronze medalist in 45-49, and Top 10 Overall at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships Hosted by the James Joyce Ramble
in Dedham MA Photo Credit: Pam Fales 

 The shorter distance may have worked for Reiner; she reversed the advantage that Bowser had over 15K four weeks earlier. Reiner finished 1:07 ahead of Bowser in 40:29.

Melissa Hardesty 37:26     Sybil Sanders 39:22     Ginger Reiner 40:29

50-54 Finishing 4th and 5th overall, just 4 seconds apart Abby Dean and Karolyn Bowley went 1-2 in this division at the same time. 

Abby Dean crosses the finish line with a 4th place Overall, 1st in 50-54 at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships Hosted by the James Joyce Ramble
in Dedham MA Photo Credit: Pam Fales  

After running 42:13 at the Giralda Farms 10 K last November, Hortencia Aliaga came on strong this year. She finished 2nd in the division at Atlanta. Her 19:26 on the 'Atlanta flat' course equated to a 39:43. Aliaga's 1:02:46 at the Spring Distance Classic confirmed that she would likely run close to 40, either above or below. Indeed, Aliaga gave this division 4-5-6 overall as she crossed the finish in 3rd, just 21 seconds behind Bowley! Those three demolished the division field. The 4th place runner ran a very respectable 45:10.

Abby Dean 38:17     Karolyn Bowley 38:21     Hortencia Aliaga 38:42

55-59 Fiona Bayly, 3rd overall, 2nd in age grading, took the division title. Suzanne La Burt, who took the title last year in 40:06, finished almost three minutes back in 2nd. This ends La Burt's 'farewell tour' as a 55–59-year-old. She is going out in style. She has been on the 55-59 podium in each of the four national championships she has contested, no easy feat in your last year in a division! 

Jody Dushay crosses the finish line just off the 55-59 podium in 42:35 at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships Hosted by the James Joyce Ramble
in Dedham MA Photo Credit: Pam Fales  

Third last year in 42:22, Mimi Fallon bettered her time by 16 seconds! That reversed the 2-3 finishing order of 2022. Jody Dushay, who finished 2nd last year in 41:28, was almost a half-minute back this year in 4th.

Fiona Bayly 38:11     Suzanne La Burt 41:10      Mimi Fallon 42:06

60-64 Mary Cass continued her run at the top of this division. Last year she was working her way up; she finished 5th here last year. This year she took the top spot at the highly competitive Club Cross Country championships in December. She has now followed that with wins at the Half Marathon in Syracuse in mid-April and this win at 10K. Kris Clark was able to come in ahead of Cass in Atlanta but needed a sterling 19:48 to do it! Cass took this win with a 4-minute cushion, beating her 2022 time by two minutes! Mary Swan, competing without her usual teammates, made the solo trip worthwhile. Last year Swan finished 4th; this year she moved up two spots, claiming the 2nd spot in 45:51. Jane Polley, who was running her 10K's last year in 50 minutes and change, moved up considerably. 

Jane Polley finishes off her race, claiming the 60-64 Bronze Medal in 46:37 at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships Hosted by the James Joyce Ramble
in Dedham MA Photo Credit: Pam Fales   

Her third-place effort was 46:37, over a minute ahead of Victoria Bok.

Mary Cass 41:45     Mary Swan 45:51     Jane Polley 46:37 

65-69 Liz Champagne aged up; she finished 8th last year in the 60-64 division with a 49:01. She claimed the 65-69 win this year in 49:52. Last year Anne Shreffler, Susan Stirrat, and Helene Myers finished 2nd, 3rd, and 8th. This race was one of the lynchpins in Stirrat's march to the 2022 65-69 Masters National Grand Prix title. Not only did Stirrat run almost as fast this year as last, but she also moved past Shreffler to move up a spot and take 2nd in 52:13. Shreffler claimed the final podium spot in 52:32. Myers finished 4th.

Liz Champagne 49:52     Susan Stirrat 52:13     Anne Shreffler 52:32

70-74 Last year Jessica Wheeler finished 2nd in this division in 52:48. She ran a 53:23 in the Middletown 10K in early April. She had an easier time of it in Dedham. She ran 54:12 and still had a cushion of well over 13 minutes. Denise Piekos finished 2nd in 1:07:57.

Jessica Wheeler 52:48     Denise Piekos 1:07:57

75-79 Jan Holmquist is a wonder! The current holder of the 70-74 American Record, Holmquist came out and captured the 75-79 American record and attained the best age grading of the day at over 98%. Running only 5 seconds slower than her 2nd place time at age 74 in 2019, Holmquist is the women's 2023 national 75-79 champion in 50:06. Barbara Sauer, a pretty fair runner in her own right, finished 4th here last year. She moved up two spots to take 2nd.

Jan Holmquist 50:06     Barbara Sauer 1:00:19

Men 40-44 Mario Vazquez and TJ Unger finished 1st and fifth overall. They went 1-2 in this division. 

TJ Unger flies to the finish; his 33:43 earned a 5th pace finish Overall and 2nd in 40-44 at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships Hosted by the James Joyce Ramble
in Dedham MA Photo Credit: Pam Fales    

Unger had a half minute on Jason Reilly, who ran 33:07 at Lone Gull and a fleet 16:15 at the Super Sunday 5K in February. Reilly captured 3rd in 34:14. Chuck Terry finished 11 seconds back in 4th.

Mario Vazquez 31:50     T.J. Unger 33:43     Chuck Terry 34:25

45-49 Justin Freeman, David Angell, and Brendan Prindiville, all from this division, went 2-3-4 overall. They claim Gold, Silver, and Bronze in the division, with Matthew Dipretore, who finished 9th in the Masters 5Km 40-44 Championships in Atlanta last year in 17:07, 4th in 34:59. 

David Angell, high-stepping it to the finish line in 33:15-3rd Overall and 2nd in 45-49 at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships Hosted by the James Joyce Ramble
in Dedham MA Photo Credit: Pam Fales    

Freeman got the 45-49 course record, lowering Peter Hammer's 32:41 (net) to 32:17.

Justin Freeman 32:17     David Angell 33:15     Brendan Prindiville 33:38

50-54 Gregory Putnam finished on the overall podium at the Half Marathon championships. He could not repeat that feat, but he had no trouble moving up from third last year to win this division in 34:21. The other main contenders were: Steve Bell, Arthur Besse, and Marcus Gage. Bell finished 4th in the division last year in 34:18 but moved up to 2nd on his home roads in Atlanta in February, clocking 16:58. Arthur Besse ran 34:50 at Lone Gull last September and clocked a 16:30 at the Super Sunday 5K in February. Gage's recent efforts included finishing 2nd n this division at the Half Marathon championships in Syracuse. His 29:32 at the Running f the Green 5 Miler in March suggested a sub-37-minute 10K should be within Gage's reach. Bell netted another 2nd place to match his Atlanta finish.

Steve Bell closes off his 34:37 effort, landing him in the Top Ten Overall and 2nd in 50-54 at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships Hosted by the James Joyce Ramble
in Dedham MA Photo Credit: Pam Fales     

 Bell was well over 50 meters back from Putnam but finished 2nd with a good 150 meters on his closest division rival. Besse claimed third in 35:15, with Gage 4th in 35:37. Gage had a really good run, racing faster than his recent results suggested! Gage ran well in Syracuse; this result today suggests that had the weather been milder, Gage might have cracked 1:20 by a good deal.

Gregory Putnam 34:21     Steve Bell 34:37     Arthur Besse 35:15

55-59 Jason Cakouros, Scott Grandfield, Mark Hixson, Scott Humphrey, Mike Nier, Scott Siriano, and Brett Stoeffler all broke 38 minutes in a very competitive contest. It is unusual enough to have three athletes named Scott in the top 8 in any national competition that I could well refer to this as the Three Scott's division. 

Cakouros had an off day here last year, finishing 14th; he ran a minute faster at Lone Gull in September, clocking 37:44. 

Grandfield, in contrast, had a good day last year, finishing 3rd in 36:19. He ran 20 seconds slower at Lone Gull in September. This February he ran 17:23 at the Super Sunday 5K; he seemed ready to roll! 

Hixson has been turning the corner since coming back from an absence. he finished 4th in the division at Cross Nationals in Richmond in January. His 17:42 at the Shamrockin' 5K in March suggested a sub-37 10K could be within reach. 

Humphrey took the division win at the Half Marathon championships in mid-April. His time was 1:22:07, consistent with a 37:30 10K. And most folks ran that race a minute or two slower than usual, due to the unseasonably warm weather. Looking back at his 55:11 performance over 15K at the Stockade-a-thon last fall, it appeared that a 36-minute 10K would have been within reach.

Nier finished 13th here last year but was coming off of a hamstring injury. His 3rd place at the Masters Half Marathon championships, along with podium finishes in the 3000 and 5000 meters at the Masters Indoor TF Championships, suggested he was ready to contend for the podium. 

Siriano has been a solid runner at distances from 5K to ten miles already this year. Siriano finished 8th last year in 38:10 and moved up to 7th at the 12K championships. His 9th place at Atlanta with an 18:59 5K was in keeping with a 10K in the 18 to 18:30 range.

Stoeffler ran a 1:18:13 20K at the Faxon Law 20K on Labor Day in New Haven, equating to a 37:39 10K. In early April, Stoeffler showed that was a conservative estimate by running a 36:19 at the Middletown 10K.

It turned out that Humphrey's Stockade-a-thon outing was a good predictor. Humphrey had enough in the tank to pull away from the rest and win by over 50 meters in 36:09. 

Jason Cakouros clocks 36:31 to take the 55-59 Bronze Medal at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships Hosted by the James Joyce Ramble
in Dedham MA Photo Credit: Pam Fales     
 

Stoeffler and Cakouros were closer, finishing in 2nd and 3rd, separated by just 8 seconds. Grandfield was 4th in 36:57, with Hixson 5th at 37:14. Nier edged Siriano for 6th by just 3 seconds in 37:38.

Scott Humphrey 36:09     Brett Stoeffler 36:23     Jason Cakouros 36:31

60-64 You do not break an American record and achieve the top age grade without winning your division. Larson is running so well right now that he won ahead of a very strong field by a minute and a half. His 34:24 (net) broke, by over a minute and a half, Tim Degrado's course record set last year at 35:57. The athlete who finished 2nd, John Van Danacker had the second highest age grade score overall. The top 4 runners in this division all broke 37 minutes! Mark Zamek, back in action this year after a lengthy rehab, and in a new age division, entered it with style, landing on the podium at a national road racing championship for the first time since 2019. 

Mark Zamek closes off his 36:13 effort, taking the 60-64 Bronze Medal at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships Hosted by the James Joyce Ramble
in Dedham MA Photo Credit: Pam Fales    

He had over a half minute on Steve Schmidt, taking third in 36:13. Schmidt had finished 2nd in the division to Larson at Club Cross in San Francisco, 3rd in Atlanta and 2nd two weeks earlier in Syracuse. This was his first national championship off of the podium, finishing 4th in 36:54. The rest of the field was over a minute back.

Nat Larson 34:25     John Van Danacker 35:54     Mark Zamek 36:13

65-69 The runner with the top returning time from last year was David Westenberg who finished 6th in the 60-64 division in 38:12. He backs that up with a second in 65-69 at Club Cross and a win at Cross Nationals in Richmond. He also broke the men's 65-69 1500 Meter Indoor mark last December. If Westenberg was on, it looked like the race was his to lose. 

David Westenberg strides to the finish and the 65-69 Gold Medal at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships Hosted by the James Joyce Ramble
in Dedham MA Photo Credit: Pam Fales    

No one else seemed likely to break 40 minutes. John Barbour, the 2019 division winner in 38:39, was coming back from an injury last year; he finished 7th in 43:31. His 1:03:54 at the Tune Up 15K in early April suggested a better outing was likely this year, probably under 42:00. However, before the race, Barbour confided that he had strained a quad muscle in training earlier in the week. John Blaser finished 4th last year in 41:59; his 9th place finish at Atlanta this February reflected the strength of the field, but otherwise seemed consistent with a sub-42 10K. Timothy Riccardi has the second fastest returning time from last year. He, too, was in 60-64, finishing 11th in 40:28. Furthermore, his 8th place finish at the WMA 10K in 42:09 at the end of March cemented his position as one of the podium favorites. Reno Stirrat was the wild card once again. Last year Stirrat finished 3rd in 41:13. But this year, with a balky piriformis muscle, it was anyone's guess as to how well Stirrat would run. As he noted, he set a PR in the Half Marathon for the most number of times ever needed to stop and walk in a Half marathon-seven. But he still managed to finish 4th. Stirrat is a master at working around his injuries in a way that he usually remains nationally  competitive. Westenberg was indeed 'on'; in fact he was able to cruise and save himself for important paternal pacing duties over a substantial portion of a 100K ultra trail race a week later in California. He won in 39:22, with two and a half minutes on the field. It was much closer with Riccardi, Blaser and Barbour, In the end, Riccardi was able to pull away and take the silver medal in 41:58, just 7 seconds ahead of Blaser. Barbour, despite his annoying quad strain, was just 5 seconds behind Blaser in 4th. And 5th, you guessed it, Stirrat, balky piriformis and all, in 43:48.

David Westenberg 39:22     Timothy Riccardi 41:58     John Blaser 42:05

70-74 Robert Qualls returned from the WMA Championships in Finland last year covered with M70 medals. In September he won the 70-74 national championship at the 12 k in Highlands NJ, and he has kept on winning ever since then. His most recent national championship was the 5 k at Atlanta. He won the division in 20:02. At the WMA Indoor championships in Poland in March, he won the 70-74 gold medal in the 10K road race in 41:12. No one else seemed likely to break 443 and perhaps not 44:00. The primary contenders for the rest of the podium were: Jim Foster, Paul Funch, Kirk Larson, and Eugene Myers. Foster, a perennial contender if he enters a national championship, did not run here last year. But he finished first in the division at the Half Marathon championships in mid-April. His 1:41:59 there translates to a 46:15. As noted earlier, most runners at the Half Marathon championships had times that were a couple of minutes slower than their norm. It seemed likely that Foster would be able to break 46 and perhaps 45 minutes. Funch is a newcomer to this national championship. But he has the qualifications. He ran a 44:14 at the St. Patty's 10K in March and clocked 1:10:29 at the Tune-Up 15K, which equates roughly to a 45:44. Larson finished 2nd in the division last year in 43:58. His 5th place finish in Atlanta in February in 21:23 suggested he was off that level of fitness. But two months later, with a solid training block under his belt, Larson would certainly qualify as one of the favorites. Myers finished 6th in 65-69 last year in 43:14. But he ran 45:13 in the 10K at the WMA Indoors in Poland. Myers ran a lot of races during that week in Poland. Once he returned, Myers also competed at the Half Marathon championships on the 16th, finishing 2nd to Foster in 1:43:00. 

Qualls kept it rolling. He took the win with over two minutes of cushion in 41:43. Larson pulled away from his rivals on the way back in from the Noble and Greenough School and held strong all the way to the finish line for a silver medal run in 44:07. 

Kirk Larson strides across the finish line in 44:07, earning the 70-74 Silver Medal at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships Hosted by the James Joyce Ramble
in Dedham MA Photo Credit: Pam Fales    

Larson had over 70 meters on his closest rival. Funch, the newcomer, took the bronze medal in 44:26, with Foster 32 seconds back in 4th. Myers was 5th in 45:19.

Robert Qualls 41:43     Kirk Larson 44:07     Paul Funch 44:26

75-79 For much of the last year this has been the Dave and Gary show. Dave Glass was dominant all last year on the roads, winning every championship at 10 Km and longer. Gary Ostwald  was a threat primarily on the turf. His only finish ahead of Glass in 2022 was in San Diego at Cross Nationals. It has been a different story this year. Ostwald must have had an excellent training block in the fall after losing to Glass at the 5 km XC, virtually in his backyard in Boulder CO. At Club Cross in San Francisco, he not onlyu beat Glass, he even nipped Ron Wells, a consummate cross country runner, for the win. At Cross Nationals in Richmond, Ostwald bided his time and kicked away from Glas to take the win. At the Ten Mile Championships came the real surprise. I anticipated Glass reasserting himself. He had beaten Ostwald by over 3 minutes in 2022. But no, Ostwald pulled away from Glass over the last 4 miles, taking the win by well over a minute. So Ostwald entered this race the favorite, with Glass picked for 2nd place. No oone else in the field would be likely to stay with those two, or at least, that is what I thought. The contenders for the final podium spot were: Paul Carlin, your author, Jan Frisby, and Jim May. I learned the morning before the race that Tony Gingello, who took the 70-74 championship from me in 2017 with a blistering kick in the last 300 meters, was entered but would not be a force. He had injured a bone in his foot and was starting to return to form. "But I need more speed work!" he said. After losing the last six months of 2021 to a persistent Achilles problem, last year was a gradual return to fitness. This year had gone better, but May had my number still, coming in 1:11 ahead of me at Cross Nationals in Richmond. This would be our first meeting since then and I hoped it might turn out differently. Jan Frisby is always dangerous. If healthy he can call on decades of experience and a strong motor. His achilles heel is that various muscles do not always hold together when he calls on them. Last year May and Frisby finished 3rd and 4th in 48:41 and 49:08. Frisby had been a lot closer until the final few hundred meters when the calf or Achilles (or another sinew I cannot recall right now) acted up. Frisby had something similar bothering him in the run up to Atlanta. So even though I came in a half minute ahead of him, I was not feeling all that confident going into the Ten Mile Championships; he had beaten me there the previous year. That worry went away, though, when I learned that his training had been interrupted by a bout with Covid. Frisby usually tips me off if he has an injury. When I did not hear from him, I figured he was ready to roll.

Glass took off strong from the start and Ostwald resolved to just keep him in sight and try to close on him later in the race. Glass knew that Ostwald was behind him and he assumed, as he could not see any M75 runners that he was in first. That would have been my assumption also. When they got inside the last mile, Glass, all of a sudden, saw an M75 back bib ahead of him. It was Jim May! Ever the warrior he sometimes goes out hard and just wills himself to keep going. He took an 8K win from me in 2017 that way. I tried to catch him on the last kilometer straightaway, but ran out of racecourse. Later I saw photos of his teammates supporting him after he crossed the finish line, totally spent! But Glass had closed on May soon enough; he was confident he could pass him well before the finish line. But just as Glass caught up to May, Ostwald, who had been closing in on Glass, saw May at the same time and passed both. After that it was just a case of everyone closing out their race. Ostwald took the win in 46:10, putting a large gap on Glass on the rolling rise up to the finish. 

Gary Ostwald just after crossing the finish line, taking his fourth 75-79 Victory in four tries in the 2023 Masters National Grand Prix at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships Hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA Photo Credit: Pam Fales     

Glass finished 2nd in 46:56, with May 26 seconds back in 3rd. Like Glass, I had no idea where Jim May was during the race. He could be ahead or behind me. I was more concerned with Frisby, who was definitely ahead of me. I had kept him in sight through the town center and up the Highland Street hill. I did not really start to get close until we entered the grounds of the Noble and Greenough School just after three miles. By the time we turned up the Pine Street hill at Mile 4, I could see Frisby up ahead. I gradually closed on him and passed him after a half mile. I could see no other M75's ahead of me but fell into a friendly rivals struggle with Jerry Learned, from the 70-74 division, that probably helped both of us to a better time. When I saw Jim May after crossing the finish line, I knew that I had finished 4th. My time was 50:08, about the same as last year; Dennis Moore finished 5th, 2 minutes and change later, with Frisby sixth. He said that he had been too aggressive in challenging the hills in the early stages of the race. Ostwald had another fine win and Glass continued to finish well ahead of everyone else in the division. May probably finished closer than Glass would have hoped.

Gary Ostwald 46:10     Dave Glass 46:56     Jim May 47:22

80-84 Six athletes were entered in this division. Hal Bennett won here last year in 54:11; he was the clear favorite. He had run a 25:53 5K in March, suggesting he was not too far off the fitness he exhibited last year. It would likely be a much closer race for 2nd. Ed Bligh ran 54:21 here in 2019; aging that up with the age grading tables puts it at about 58:47 in 2023. Furthermore, Bligh finished 2nd in this division at Atlanta with a 28:31 5K. That suggested Bligh might be able to run faster than 58:30. His chief rival would be George Gilder who finished 2nd to Bennett last year in 58:03. But the 1:04:22 Gilder ran at the WMA Championships in Poland raised some doubts about his ability to break 60 right now. Bennett did indeed enter the race fit and ready todefend his title. He took the win with 5 minutes to spare in 55:10. Bligh and Gilder did duel to the finish. Bligh captured the silver medal in 1:00:11 with Gilder 48 seconds behind in 3rd. Denny Leblanc took 4th 9 minutes later.

Hal Bennett 55:10     Ed Bligh 1:00:11     George Gilder 1:00:59

85-89 Jerry Levasseur finished 8th last year in 80-84 in 1:36:03. He enjoyed the win unopposed in his new division in 1:39:46.

Jerry Levasseur 1:39:46

It was a terrific championship with incredible races. Two American records were set. One overall course record and five age division course records were lowered.

COURSE RECORDS 

MEN

Jesse Davis's  overall Male Masters course record of 32:08 (gun time) was lowered by 18 seconds to 31:50 (gun time) by Mario Vazquez. Vazquez also lowered the 40-44 course record from Davis's 32:07 (net time) to 31:50 (net time). Justin Freeman lowered Peter Hammer's 45-49 course record from 32:41 to 32:17. Nat Larson lowered Tim Degrado's 60-64 course record from 35:57 (net) to 34:24 (net). 

WOMEN

Fiona Bayly lowered Marisa Sutera Strange's 55-59 course record from 38:35 (net) to 38:10 (net). Jan Holmquist lowered Carrie Parsi's 75-79 course record to 50:01 (net).

The recap of the Team Championships will be posted in the next day or two.